Page 125 of Brutal King

“Do you have my coin?” That was his question every time he returned, but it wasn’t what he was asking. What was he asking? What?

He taught me everything he knew. Or was he indoctrinating me?

Did he want me to follow in his footsteps as his heir, or as his puppet?

Was I isolated so long for my safety, or was Kingsbrook Manor my gilded cage?

Did he break me the way he taught me to do with Shiloh, and like her, I became his obedient soldier?

Yes. Yes, to all of it. And he was so good, I didn’t feel it happening. He broke me, and I loved him. I worshiped him.

He made me into a version of himself, a fucking clone that could finish the job he started while he sat back and waited. All the while, the things I did in the name of revenge…

“Do you have my coin?” The look in his eyes… He was searching for something in my face. I’ve always wondered what that was. Until today.

Do I have your unconditional loyalty?

Heat crawls up my neck and into my head, until it feels like my brain is boiling. I can’t breathe. The walls begin to close in on me, crushing me with the truth.

Everything I’ve ever been told, ever lived, ever known, is a lie. My entire life is in question. A psychological cage was carefully built around me so that I couldn’t see beyond it, and I clung to the very man who put me there.

Then I did it to Sofia.

My heart pounds in my chest and the sound of blood rushing through my veins roars in my ears. The room begins to spin around me and I sway.

“Excuse me.” I step out into the foyer and burst through the front door.

“Stop!” The armed men standing there attempt to detain me, their guns trained on my head, but I don’t need to go farther.

As soon as the crisp fresh air hits my face, I double over, sucking in as much as I can.

“It’s okay. Stand down.” Luca comes out behind me.

The guards nod and move away to give us space. I clutch my chest, unsure if itisokay.

“What’s wrong?” he asks me. “Are you having a heart attack?”

I glance at him. “If I was, you don’t sound worried at all.”

“Do you blame me?”

“No.”

“Come.” He grabs me by the shoulder and tugs me to a bench. “Sit.”

“Fuck me!” I curse when it feels like my side wound is opening up. It takes a moment before the ache ebbs.

“You will pay to fix that.” Luca stares ahead at the damage I caused when I arrived here.

Through a breath, I say, “Fine.”

“I know what it’s like to be betrayed by family,” Luca tells me.

“Not by the man meant to protect you,” I say. “Your uncle was a conniving little bitch. My father was a monster. And he turned me into one too.”

“I’m glad you’ve come to realize that.”

“I have.” I swallow hard, my jaw ticking. “Sofia… I… If I could change things… I would give anything to make it right.”

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